The moment Bai Qiu took out the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear, the Star-Silver Dragon Worm let out a shrill, miserable screech.
It rapidly retreated, dropping its shield while simultaneously activating Dragonblood Compression and Mana Field.
If Bai Qiu’s overwhelming mana alone made it feel threatened—and the high-tier true dragon aura from his armor unsettled it—then the instant the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear appeared, what it sensed was something even more terrifying than a natural predator.
Its first instinct was to flee.
But it quickly realized its speed was inferior to Bai Qiu’s.
With no escape, it could only go all out and attempt to fight against this opponent it feared even more than its natural enemy…
Even the Star-Iron Dragon Worm, which had been chasing Li Qingshan nonstop, suddenly froze.
Its legs trembled—it felt an overwhelming fear…
Turning its head, it saw that the source of that fear was chasing the Star-Silver Dragon Worm.
Only then did it feel a slight sense of relief.
Without hesitation, it abandoned Li Qingshan—who had been pestering it like a flea—and fled in the opposite direction.
No joke—its instincts had never failed it.
That innate sense of danger had saved its life countless times.
There was no way it would ignore it now, even if it meant abandoning its “ally.”
Not even a moment of silence for the soon-to-be-dead Star-Silver “brother”—the Star-Iron Dragon Worm was the next to flee the battlefield!
Li Qingshan didn’t know what it was thinking, but the direction it fled in made his expression change instantly!
Was it trying to bypass him and attack the main force behind?!
Abandoning any thought of stretching out the battle, he immediately activated his Noble Phantasm!
[Noble Phantasm — Battle Imprint!]
With a roar, blood-red markings appeared across Li Qingshan’s body.
His speed surged instantly—he was already faster than the Star-Iron Dragon Worm, and now he shot ahead of it, gripping his greatsword with both hands and slamming it down!
Boom!
The Star-Iron Dragon Worm was smashed into the ground—but the spot where it was hit remained completely undamaged.
If Bai Qiu had seen it, he would’ve been shocked.
Not only could Li Qingshan use his Noble Phantasm during Berserk, but by activating it mid-Berserk, he could even cast it without incantation!
A true case of negatives canceling out!
As for the enhancement—it was even more absurd.
His base attributes, originally around C to C+, were now pushed straight to C++, nearly matching Bai Qiu!
His Mountain-Crushing Spiral Sword glowed red as well.
Under his relentless assault, the Star-Iron Dragon Worm finally began to feel pain and decided to deal with this irritating opponent first!
…
As soon as Bai Qiu drew the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear, fierce winds gathered from all directions.
He concentrated the energy along the spear blade, unleashing a Cutting Wind to increase its penetration!
He quickly caught up to the Star-Silver Dragon Worm and thrust forward—instantly slicing through its carapace.
The cutting wind tore through its flesh!
The Star-Silver Dragon Worm roared in pain.
Its Mana Field, enhanced by Dragonblood Compression, spread out—but it had no effect on Bai Qiu.
He moved like a phantom, weaving around it and shredding its armor!
The worm opened its mouth and fired a Meteor Beam.
Bai Qiu made no attempt to block it—he stomped the ground instead.
A mana barrier and a vortex of wind-elemental energy formed beneath his feet.
That single step not only gave him immense propulsion, but with the wind vortex boosting him, he broke past his speed limit!
He easily dodged the Meteor Beam and continued carving wounds into the creature.
With the Cutting Wind, the Dragon-Slaying Starbreath’s penetration grew stronger the longer the fight lasted.
With Mana Release, Mana Control, and Wind Manipulation working in tandem, his burst speed was now approaching B- tier!
Before long, cutting through the Star-Silver Dragon Worm’s armor became as easy as slicing tofu—each thrust and slash effortlessly pierced its shell, shredding the flesh within.
Just as it opened its mouth to unleash another Meteor Beam, it suddenly realized in terror that the energy couldn’t gather—it dissipated at its neck.
Just as it tried to force more power into it…
Crack!
Bai Qiu, who had already closed in, kicked its head with a heavy blow.
Its neck—connecting to the head—had long since been encircled and sliced through by the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear.
Combined with that kick…
Its massive head was sent flying off, splattering unknown fluids everywhere.
The half-charged Meteor Beam fired off wildly as the head spun, blasting the surroundings and even the cavern ceiling into ruin—rocks and dust crashing down in chaos!
Raising his hand, Bai Qiu lifted the spear above his head and hurled it straight at the severed head!
Boom!
The Star-Silver Dragon Worm’s head exploded, fragments and fluids scattering in all directions.
The moment its head was destroyed, the system registered its death.
A decomposing light began spreading from its massive body, gradually breaking it down.
Soon, it would be converted into Transcendent-grade materials.
Seeing this, Bai Qiu didn’t linger.
Following the aura of the Star-Iron Dragon Worm, he rushed toward Li Qingshan…
As he sped along, the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear, glowing with a faint green light, cut through the air.
A gust of wind shook off the dust on its shaft before it flew back into Bai Qiu’s hand at incredible speed.
…
After activating his Noble Phantasm, Li Qingshan’s attributes were greatly enhanced.
Relying on his high agility, he weaved left and right, doing his best to slow down the Star-Iron Dragon Worm.
At the same time, he could only hope that Bai Qiu would finish off the Star-Silver Dragon Worm quickly—otherwise, once Battle Imprint ended, it would be his death sentence…
That’s right—even in his current state, Li Qingshan still couldn’t match the Star-Iron Dragon Worm in raw strength.
Its defense was also astonishingly high—no matter what he did, he simply couldn’t break through it…
Even with his Mountain-Crushing Spiral Sword at full power, he could at most leave a few cracks on its shell.
The Star-Iron armor was incredibly tough and resilient.
It could be said that the Star-Iron Dragon Worm had taken almost no real damage, while Li Qingshan, from the recoil of his own overloaded attacks, had split the skin of his palms—blood soaking and staining the sword’s hilt red.
Second by second, as the duration of Battle Imprint dwindled, the hope in Li Qingshan’s heart gradually faded.
But just as the Star-Iron Dragon Worm had been preparing to chase him down and devour him, it suddenly went mad—turning and fleeing!
Whoosh—
A long spear wrapped in azure light shot toward it like a beam.
The dazzling brilliance forced Li Qingshan to shut his eyes.
But he forced them open again, watching as the spear struck the Star-Iron Dragon Worm at blinding speed…
BOOM!
The entire cavern trembled violently, shaking so hard he nearly lost his footing.
When the dust finally settled—
The Star-Iron Dragon Worm lay motionless on the ground.
Its eyes stared at Bai Qiu, who hovered in midair, filled with despair.
My life ends here…
That was the only thought left in its mind.
Whether it was the intense pain from its head or the overwhelming dizziness, everything told it the same truth—its end was near…
Floating in the air, Bai Qiu had pushed back his hood, revealing the helmet of the Skyward Battle Armor on his head.
Through the narrow slit of his helmet, a pair of shattered-gold eyes could be seen—filled with almost tangible killing intent.
His entire body surged with mana, his presence even more overwhelming than that of the Star-Silver Dragon Worm!
The spear he held high above his head radiated an aura that seemed ready to annihilate all enemies…
Seeing the Star-Iron Dragon Worm’s defeated, spiritless gaze, Bai Qiu’s killing intent subsided slightly.
But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Li Qingshan’s bloodied hands and felt his weakening aura—there was no longer any chance he could finish off this Star-Iron Dragon Worm.
At this moment, the creature was in a miserable state.
The star-iron armor on its head had been pierced by Bai Qiu’s earlier strike, blood constantly seeping out—it had completely lost the protection of its shell.
If Li Qingshan still had the strength to fight, Bai Qiu would have preferred to leave the finishing blow to him.
Forget it… I’ll end this!
Gritting his teeth, he hurled the spear in his hand with full force, without the slightest hesitation!
With another thunderous explosion and violent tremor, the unprotected head of the Star-Iron Dragon Worm was instantly blasted into fragments!
Killing it in just two strikes—even Bai Qiu was somewhat surprised at the spear’s destructive power.
After all, the Star-Iron Dragon Worm’s Strength was at B-.
If it had been a C-rank spear, breaking its defense would have been impossible without using a Noble Phantasm.
But this level of power wasn’t solely due to the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear itself—Bai Qiu’s exceptional compatibility with the weapon was also a key factor.
If someone else with similar attributes wielded this spear, even if they could barely handle it, defeating the Star-Iron Dragon Worm would be far from easy!
With Mana Control and Mana Release amplifying it, and the Wind-Gathering property fully stacked, the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear’s attacks carried the pulling, bursting, and cutting effects of the Starbreath Wind.
With Magic at B- and Strength at C++, Bai Qiu’s full-force throw reached its peak destructive potential.
Even his wind manipulation worked in its favor, carving out an unobstructed acceleration path.
Retrieving the Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear, Bai Qiu hovered in the air, quietly savoring the battle that had just ended.
He was extremely satisfied with the weapon in his hands.
A weapon he had personally helped forge had mana circuits and properties perfectly aligned with him, allowing it to perform at over 100% of its intended capacity.
Even the best loot-dropped weapons of the same tier—no matter how powerful their skills or how long he used them—could never truly compare to one he had crafted himself…
At the same time, Bai Qiu realized just how significant the gap between B- and C++ truly was.
With the performance of the Purgatory Darkflame Spear and Fallen Dragon’s Bow, without fully stacking passives or activating pseudo–Noble Phantasm skills, they simply couldn’t harm Monarch-class monsters.
Even against King-class monsters, they felt lacking.
Once he returned, he would have to seriously consider crafting an upgraded version of the Fallen Dragon’s Bow.
After Li Qingshan—now in an extremely weakened state—recovered slightly, Li Zhongjun’s main force, having received the news, quickly rushed over.
As Li Qingshan was carried toward the rear of the formation, he managed an awkward smile when passing by Bai Qiu.
In a hoarse voice, he said, “Might be a bit late to say this… but thanks, brother.”
“No need,” Bai Qiu replied calmly. “I promised Commander Li—I’d bring everyone out alive.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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